By Harry Awurumibe, Editor Abuja Bureau
The Managing Director, North East Development Commission (NEDC), Mr. Mohammed Goni Alkali, has vowed that the Commission will resist the kind of grafts that have been alleged to characterise the operations of a similar agency, the Niger Delta Development Commission (NNDC).
He said water tight measures have been put in place to insulate the activities of the new regional Commission in the North from going the way of NDDC.
But fielding questions from State House Correspondents on Thursday at the 50th Session of State House Briefing organised by the State House Communication Team, the NEDC boss stated that the Commission is focussed and will not allow any infractions in its activities.
Reacting to a question on what measures have been put in place to shield the NEDC from corruption, Mr. Alkali said the Commission was created for a purpose and would ensure judicious utilisation of resources at its disposal and to actualize it’s mandate for the people.
Said he: “You see, this things have to do with institutional issues, individual issues, and so on and so forth. But, in our own (NEDC) case we know that we are created for a purpose, and at the end of the day we believe that posterity will judge us with what we have done with the mandate given to us.
“That is why we are very careful and very prudent in seeing that we propose and execute what we can do with the …. available. Sometimes, yes, there could be political pressure, but always in the commission we are bent on following laid down procedures and see that we are guided by what is feasible and what is prudentially possible to achieve”.
“And this is our commitment to the people of the northeast. We as a team now, we want to ensure that whatever is given to us is being protected for their benefit”.
The Managing Director of NEDC used the forum to provide key updates on the Commission’s core responsibilities which includes to assess, coordinate, and harmonize the Federal Government’s intervention programs, and initiatives for the North East states.
According to him the Commission in collaboration with the the six North East states have been involved in delivering key
infrastructure projects like rebuilding of damaged roads, bridges, health facilities and educational institutions destroyed by insurgents that have been ravaging the North East region for the past 10 years.
The Commission he also said still requires over $80 million to carry out its activities within 10 years period, adding that the agency has judiciously used the statutory allocation it is receiving.
